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ITN (Italy) 02 May 08 Italians wake up snakes for luck
Snakes in the Abruzzo region of Italy have been woken up from hibernation to take part in a parade.
For thousands of years local snake-catchers have gone out from the mountain town of Cucullo to pluck snakes from their habitats to be draped around the statue of Saint Dominic and marched through the streets in the Serpari Festival that takes place on the first Thursday of May.
The parade is celebrated to evoke the Saint's help to ward off snake bites and was originally carried out to show the local shepherds it was safe to go out into the pastures.
"For me this is a religious festival and also brings to life my devotion for the Saint, before I was afraid of snakes and now I am not afraid because the Saint is nearby," said Cucullo resident Mary Ardele, holding snakes in her hand.
Saint Dominic is revered for his work in the eleventh century in which he is said to have charmed all the poisonous snakes in the area and driven them away.
The roots of the festival can be traced back even earlier to the worship of the Snake Goddess, Angitia by a local tribe, the Marsi. At the time snakes were associated with healing, prophecy and wisdom.
The snake-catchers appeared to be acting fearlessly in handling their wriggling showstoppers but that is because Italy has only one venomous snake, the small viper, and they are not invited to the party.
Italians wake up snakes for luck
